This invention relates generally to systems and devices for use in the disposal of potentially hazardous items, and more particularly, this invention relates to a relatively simple and easy-to-use system for safe reception and subsequent disposal of used hypodermic needles and the like.
In medical examination and treatment facilities, such as a hospital, hypodermic needles are used widely on a regular basis for a variety of purposes including, for example, drawing of blood and other patient fluid samples, administration of medication, and the like. Such hypodermic needles are commonly provided as individually prepackaged, presterilized, disposable items intended for use a single time after which they are discarded, thereby avoiding relatively costly and time-consuming needle resterilization and the need for related sterilization equipment. However, disposal of the once-used hypodermic needles must be accomplished in a manner which safely avoids injury to medical personnel, such as inadvertent needle punctures and further which prevents potentially contaminating contact with the used needles. Moreover, it is highly desirable to dispose of the used needles in a manner which minimizes opportunity or risk of unauthorized reuse, for example, by users of illegal drug substances.
More particularly, by way of one specific example, medical technicians in a hospital facility are typically required to draw a relatively large number of patient blood samples each day. These blood samples are normally collected by the technician within individual sterilized containers on a portable tray or the like during his rounds from one patient room to another, wherein a separate disposable hypodermic needle is used to draw each blood sample. In accordance with a common blood drawing technique, the sterilized containers constitute individual vacuum tubes closed by a self-sealing cap and shaped for inverted insertion into an open-topped syringe barrel. Each hypodermic needle comprises a double-ended needle unit having a first needle for insertion into the patient, a second needle for reception into the syringe barrel piercing the cap of the vacuum tube, and an intermediate cartridge structure adapted for releasable connection as by threading to the lower end of the syringe barrel. Following drawing of each blood sample, the filled vacuum tube and the used needle unit are removed from the syringe barrel and replaced by a subsequent tube and needle unit preparatory to drawing a subsequent sample. The vacuum tubes when filled are stored temporarily on the technician's rounds to an appropriate laboratory facility, whereas the used needle units are also normally collected on the tray for later disposal in a controlled manner.
It is highly desirable to separate each used hypodermic needle unit from the syringe barrel in a manner requiring little or no human contact, thereby preventing inadvertent injury or contamination which otherwise occur. Moreover, after separation from the syringe barrel, it is highly desirable to substantially isolate the collected needle units from subsequent direct human contact, either intentional or inadvertent, and thereby further safeguard against undesired injury or contamination.
In the past, a variety of devices and systems have been proposed for use in disposing used hypodermic needles and the like. For example, disposable needle collection cups designed for carrying on a medical technician's tray or the like are well known. In some instances, these collection cups are designed to include a cap having a specially shaped opening for bearing engagement by the cartridge structure of a double-ended needle unit to permit unthreading of the needle unit from a syringe barrel as a one-handed operation, whereupon the thus-separated needle unit is intended to fall into the collection cup without direct handling by the technician. However, such cap constructions have not prevented occasional jamming of the needle unit within the cap opening such that it becomes necessary to dislodge the needle unit manually resulting in possible contamination or injury. Other collection cup designs have included a movable cap which can be closed when the cup is full to permit cup handling for disposal purposes without contacting the used needles. However, cap constructions of this type have been susceptible to relatively easy reopening, sometimes inadvertently, resulting in potential contamination, injury, or unauthorized reuse.
Alternative devices, such as needle clipping mechanisms, have been proposed for severing and destroying hypodermic needles promptly after use. While mechanisms of this type advantageously prevent unauthorized needle reuse, they have not safeguarded the severed needles from subsequent human contact, particularly during handling for disposal purposes. Moreover, needle clipping mechanisms in the past generally have been relatively cumbersome to operate and have had sufficient size and/or wieght such that they have not been conveniently transportable. As a result, needle clipping mechanisms have not been widely accepted for use by medical technicians and other medical personnel.
There exists, therefore, a significant need for an improved disposal system for collection and disposal of used hypodermic needles, wherein the used needles can be removed quickly and easily from a syringe barrel or the like substantially without direct human contact, and further wherein the collected needles can be substantially isolated from further access during handling for disposal purposes. The present invention fulfills this need and provides further related advantages.